Hyuga Neji

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Hyuga Neji (日向ネジ) was a member of Konohagakure's Hyuga clan. Though a prodigy even by the Hyuga's standards, Neji is a member of one of the clan's Branch Houses; no matter how skilled he may become, he will always be in service to the Hyuga's Main House, a fact that convinces him fate is predetermined. After experiencing Uzumaki Naruto's refusal to be limited by such an ideology, Neji realizes his fate is what he chooses it to be and, as a member of Team Maito Gai, he seeks the strength necessary to make the future he wants for his family and friends.

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Neji was born on July 3 as the son of Hyuga Hizashi, therefore placing him in one of the Hyuga clan's branch houses. He would train with his father, by trying to get better. But his father tells him not to over do it and Neji would be happy when his father praised him for getting strong. Neji would even vow down to his father by thanking him. As they talked out side, Neji learns that he has a relative that is younger than him and was surprised when he learned that his younger relative is a girl. However Neji was surprised when it also snowed outside.

When the heiress of the main house, Hyuga Hinata, turned three years old. Neji met her and had call her cute. He then got patted on his head by his father. As the two sparred together Neji would help Hinata stand up whenever she fell down. As they spoke outside Neji learns that Hinata hates taijutsu, and Neji vows to protect Hinata as she is the heiress of the clan. But Nehi tells Hinata that it's showing outside, and he smiles as he sees her watching it. He also tells her that he had a snowball fight with his father by hitting him twice with a snowball. However Neji's forehead was branded with the customary cursed seal by his uncle, Hyuga Hiashi. In the manga, his curse seal is a manji. But in the anime, his curse seal is a X. Despite how young he was at the time, Neji's natural talent with the Hyuga's trademark techniques were apparent to his father. For this reason, Hizashi resented that Neji was marked with a cursed seal, as he felt it bound him to a life of service to the main house when he should be destined for greater things. His anger would often manifest subconsciously, prompting Hiashi to activate Hizashi's cursed seal and punish him with pain, an act that traumatised Neji.

Shortly after Neji received his cursed seal, a Kumogakure Head Ninja visiting Konoha attempted to kidnap Hinata in order to gain the secrets of the Byakugan. Hiashi stopped and killed the Head Ninja. In what became known as the Hyuga Affair, Kumo denied the allegations made against its Head Ninja and insisted Hiashi's actions were a declaration of war by Konoha; the only way to avoid hostilities between the two villages would be if Hiashi's body were turned over to Kumo as compensation. Hiashi was willing to do so if it meant protecting Konoha, but that in turn would give Kumo the Byakugan. Hizashi volunteered to be his body double since his cursed seal would destroy his Byakugan at the time of his death, a fate he insisted upon over Hiashi's protests. Neji was too young to understand what was happening at the time, and over the years came to believe his father had been forced to die for the main house. At his father's funeral, Neji talked to his clan members by smiling but then he started to cry.

Afterwards this misconception became the primary basis of his nine year grudge against the main branch and of his concrete view on one's unalterable fate. In the anime, Neji had a training session match with Hinata and even tried to harm her. But he was stopped by Hiashi who then activates his curse seal. This caused Neji to scream in pain as his curse seal was activated making him pass out. But Neji didn't know that his second cousin, Hyuga Hanabi, had eavesdropped on seeing the whole thing to her horror. Then Hiashi decided to became Hinata's sparring partner instead. Neji then entered the Ninja Academy, where he became a standout in and easily became the top graduate of his class.

He was then assigned to the jonin tutelage of Maito Gai, alongside his classmates Rock Lee and Tenten. During their first meeting, his philosophy placed him at odds with Rock Lee: Lee wanted to become a great ninja despite his limitations, which Neji believed was impossible. For their final test to become genin, Guy forced his potential students to spare against him and see their commitment to succeed. Ultimately, all three passed. During one of his sparring matches, Tenten was easily wowed by Neji, but Lee became determined to defeat Neji in a fight to prove him wrong. However Guy, encouraged this, believing competition and the drive to succeed would push them to new heights. Later, Neji and his teamates were offered the chance to enter the Chunin Exams in the possibility of being promoted to said rank. However, all three decided to pass on the exams for the time being to further hone their skills.

Neji was a kind child who was prone to smiling; on Hyuga Hinata's third birthday, he confided to his father that he thought she was cute. Neji would even vow down to his father after they finish sparring together in a fight. Ironically Neji would try to train too hard to be strong like his father, and would respect his father when he told him not to over do it. He then lost these qualities after his father's death, growing serious and cold, more mature than most his age. For years he is driven by a fatalistic belief that his and everyone else's fates are determined from birth and are inescapable. He perceives his own destiny as being that of a rare talent, causing him to arrogantly place himself above those he believes are "weaker" than himself. He also perceives that his talents will always be handicapped by mandatory servitude to the Hyuga's main house, which he resents and which fuels his animosity towards the main house and its members.

Neji shares his philosophy about fate with those he meets, gladly telling them when they are straying from the paths that have been set out for them by. For example, trying to exceed their natural limitations or trying to defeat him in combat when they lack any obvious ability to do so. When he shares his philosophy with Hinata, she concludes that his insistence upon fate is actually a sore spot for him that causes him inner suffering so badly, that he wants to prove himself to the main house yet feels incapable of doing so. Neji attempts to kill her in anger for her words. In defense for what Neji did to Hinata during his match against her, Uzumaki Naruto also disagrees with Neji, claiming that Neji was not realizing his fate because he was in fact holding himself back. Neji initially scoffs at Naruto's suggestion, but he is forced to reevaluate when Naruto, a "failure" defeats a "genius" like him, in a fight.

From his experience with Naruto, and from learning that his father was not forced to die. Neji decides that fate is not inescapable but rather, that one's destiny is what one makes of it; he feels indebted to Naruto for releasing him from his prior "darkness". He came to see Naruto as the most powerful person he's ever fought. The fate that Neji ends up selecting for himself is to become strong enough to never lose again. In pursuit of this goal he trains with his teammates, whose own dreams he becomes supportive of. Including with members of the main house, who he gradually starts mending relations with. This interaction with others causes him to become kind once again, and over time his desire to get stronger becomes as much a motivation to never lose as it is to protect his friends and family. In particular, he embraces his responsibility as a member of a branch house to keep Hinata safe, showing greater concern for her than anyone else in combat situations and, ultimately giving his life to save hers.

Birds are often used to characterise Neji's philosophy and growth. While he feels bound by fate and the cursed seal on his forehead, he describes his personal experiences as being like a caged bird. But after being defeated by Naruto, he observes to his father's memory how many birds there are freely flying in the world. When trying to overcome the limitations of his Byakugan, he observes birds at a distance but can never spot the one at his blind-spot. After his death, the Allied Shinobi Forces take on a bird formation in his memory. His arrogant dark personality while showing a soft spot for someone that he holds dearly was passed down to his nephew, Uzumaki Boruto.

Neji had long, black hair, which is usually depicted as dark brown in the anime. In Part I, his hair reached the middle of his back and was tied back a few inches above the end in a loose ponytail, while two straps attached to a smaller headband underneath his ninja forehead protector frame the sides of his face. In Part II, he got rid of these straps, and allowed his hair, which is now longer, to frame his face instead. When he appears with the rest of his clan to protect Naruto in the Fourth Shinobi War, he had his hair out of the ponytail. Like the rest of his clan, he had very fair skin and possesses the renowned Byakugan, which when activated, stimulates the veins and arteries immediately around his eyes to protrude more prominently. In the anime, his eyes are depicted with a slight tint of lavender to them.

In Part II, Neji wore a black forehead protector that he wore snugly over his forehead. He wore a khaki shirt, under which he wore a dull blue shirt with a mesh armour underneath it, dark brown shorts, blue shinobi sandals. He also had bandages wrapped around his right arm, chest, and right leg. In Part II, Neji abandoned the bandages and is clad in more traditional Hyūga-like robes: a white shirt with loose sleeves, closed on the right shoulder, with a fastener running down the right part of the chest, matching pants, with a dark navy grey apron tied around his waist and black shinobi sandals. This may or may not have been to facilitate easier execution of his techniques, or to symbolise his warming relations with his clan. Neji usually carried a large, tan and black drawstring bag, which he carries over his shoulder. During the Fourth Shinobi War, he dons the standard Konohagakure attire with flak jacket, and the Alliance's forehead protector.

In Part I, Neji's facial expression was usually stern, hard, and cold. As the series progressed, however, his expression relaxes. He even smiled and chuckled at times. While still composed, Neji looked to be more calm, confident, and mature, rather than challenging.

From a young age, Neji's skills as a natural genius were evident, even by the Hyūga clan's high standards. His father believed Neji's talent could enable him to surpass all other Hyuga, and indeed, the third databook says he successfully did so by the time of Part II. Outside his clan, Neji graduated from the Ninja Academy at the top of his class, which in turn convinced Rock Lee that Neji was the top competitor during the Chunin Exams in Part I. Although he was not ultimately promoted during those exams, he was the only Konoha 11 member to become a jonin during the timeskip, while most others only made it to chunin. He was typically calm even in hectic situations, a quality the Fifth Hokage said made him a good leader.

As a Hyuga, Neji possessed the Byakugan, a dojutsu that granted him penetrative vision in a near-360° around himself. A small blind-spot exists behind his third upper thoracic vertebrae, a weakness he was well aware of and trained extensively to overcome, to no avail. Instead, he took extra precautions to conceal its existence. He also compensated for his inability to see from that angle by emitting chakra around the area, giving him a way to sense what's approaching and slowing attacks enough to give him time to respond. However, he was able to increase his Byakugan's range over time: whereas he could only see things 50 metres away in Part I. But by the time of Part II he could see things from at least 800 metres.

With the Byakugan, Neji could see individuals' chakra pathway systems and the 361 tenketsu that run along it. Using the Hyūga's signature Gentle Fist fighting style, he could attack an opponent's chakra system directly, constricting or cutting off their chakra flow from only minimal contact. Because the chakra pathway system is closely intertwined with many of the body's major organs, debilitating and even fatal damage can be done just as easily. While Gentle Fist strikes are by default difficult to defend against, Neji's speed, precision, and general taijutsu prowess made him especially formidable at close range, requiring opponents to keep their distance if they hoped to compete with him. Even at a distance, however, Neji's Byakugan and keen reflexes made him difficult to hit.

As a member of one of the Hyūga's branch houses, Neji was forbidden to learn many of the clan's strongest jutsu. Being so gifted, he had in spite of this been able to learn how to perform these techniques from observation. Offensively there is the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, with which he attacked multiple targets at once, either an opponent's tenketsu to seal several at once or an incoming volley of projectiles; in the anime, he could double the number of strikes. Defensively, he could use Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven to expel chakra from his body and deflect all incoming attacks. His uncle, Hyuga Hiashi, was deeply impressed that Neji learned how to perform both of these abilities on his own, and by the end of Part I, started giving Neji special instruction in the Hyūga's other secret skills.

In Part II, Neji began using the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm to attack targets outside his physical range or push away incoming attacks; when performed in combination with others, its strength is accordingly increased. If restrained and thus unable to use Revolving Heaven, he could release chakra from his tenketsu to free himself.

As stated by Tsunade, Neji had excellent instincts, both on the battlefield and as a leader. When forced to make difficult decisions on missions, he showed himself able to make a decision through keen observation and analysis. His observational skills were quite advanced, being able to deduce the workings of the Hyuga clan's secret techniques and use them effectively despite being forbidden to learn them as a member of the branch house, further exemplifying his status as a genius. In the anime, Neji was also shown to be a capable teacher, helping Hinata improve and refine her skills, among other things, her Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists.

During the first phase of the Chunin Exams, Neji used his Byakugan to read off of other examinees' tests. During the second phase, Team Maito Gai split up to find weak rival teams. Neji ran into Team Asuma, but thought of them as too weak to bother with. When Team Maito Gai later reunited, and Neji and Tenten realized that Lee was uncharacteristically late, they went looking for him. They found him after having been defeated by Team Dosu. Angered, Neji threatened to fight them, but decided not to, after noticing that Uchiha Sasuke had woken up. Once Sasuke drove off the Otogakure genin, Neji and Tenten took Lee away to recover, still managing to pass the round.

In the preliminary matches, Neji was paired up against Hyuga Hinata. He attempted to have Hinata forfeit the match stating that people would never be able to change no matter how hard they tried, though Naruto snapped Hinata out of her rising panic and with this, the two cousins begin fighting. After exchanging blows using the Gentle Fist-style of their clan, Hinata seemed to defeat Neji, only for Neji to reveal that he had closed Hinata's chakra points, rendering her Gentle Fist useless. He also hit a chakra point close to one of Hinata's vitals moments beforehand, putting Hinata in critical condition. However, Hinata refused to back down, insisting that Neji was also fighting against what could not be changed.

Enraged, Neji attacks Hinata, intent on administering a killing blow when most of the jonin in attendance stepped in to save Hinata. After the fight, Naruto, angered by Neji's philosophy and treatment of Hinata, swiped up some of Hinata's blood, and swore to defeat Neji during the finals. Neji dismissed his threats, and watched Lee's match with Gaara. He was surprised by Lee's strength. But, after the fight, he thought that Lee foolish to try to win by using a self-sacrificial method.

Neji was pitted against Uzumaki Naruto in the first rounds of the finals. Although Neji soon gained the advantage, and cut off Naruto's chakra flow, Naruto was determined to fight against Neji, and prove that fate was not predetermined despite listening to Neji's past. Naruto then tapped into Kurama's chakra, and was able to keep up with Neji for a time. Neji's Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven protected him from Naruto's attacks, but when he approached a supposedly defeated Naruto, Naruto sprang out of a tunnel he had dug in the ground, and delivered an uppercut to Neji in the jaw, defeating him. Neji was angry with himself for falling for Naruto's signature technique, but Naruto revealed that the technique used to be his worst one, and that he only became good at it through practice.

Neji then heard of his father's fate from his uncle (in the anime, it was changed to Neji reading a scroll written by his father, which explained everything), and broke down in tears. When Hiashi bowed before Neji, entreating his forgiveness, Neji asked him to rise and forgave him. Neji then silently told his father that he wished to finally have control over his destiny, and that he hoped to never lose again.

In the anime during the invasion, two Kumogakure ninja used the chaos as an opportunity to take Hinata. As he reached his cousin's location and fought the enemy, Neji was nearly killed when Hiashi came to his nephew's aid. Upon being told by his uncle that he is the last memento of his late brother, Neji began to understand Naruto's words and see that he is not a slave to the clan as he thought he was. After the invasion of the village was staved off by the shinobi, Neji attended the Third Hokage's funeral alongside the other villagers, mourning his death.

A little before Tenten met up with him, Neji was in a forest training with his Byakugan. As he attempted to locate birds with his Byakugan, he was able to see seven birds before Tenten arrived and announced that they had a new Hokage: Tsunade who had returned to Konoha. She also asked Neji to accompany her, but he declines her offer, stating that he was not interested. Shortly after this, Neji realized that it had in fact been eight birds.

When Neji was left in charge of Hinata's training as her father Hiashi had left the village on other duties with Hanabi. The two began the one thousand needle sparring session. During the grueling training, Hinata's eyesight become severely strained and she was put on bed-rest by a doctor in order to recover. As Naruto and Sakura haven't seen Hinata around for a couple of days. When Naruto and Sakura saw Neji, they ask where Hinata is. Therefore Neji tells them that Hinata strained her eyesight during her training with Neji. As Neji claims that Hinata did it to herself, Naruto tries to confront him, but is stopped by Sakura as she grabs his nose. Naruto then tells Neji about the fireworks, and claims he will be going on a date with Sakura but he gets elbowed in the gut by her. Sakura then states that she'd never go on a date with him, and ponders begrudgingly how to get rid of him.

While not wanting Hinata to miss the fireworks that she had made plans to attend with Team Kakashi, Neji wants to seek out the Eye Medicine Plant that was fabled to grow in the Valley of Judgement, despite being advised not to go there by the doctor. However Naruto and Sakura eavesdrop on the conversation and they see that Neji has a soft spot for Hinata. While meeting Neji at the gate, he tells them not to join him, but they protest and he agrees to have them join him on the mission.

While in the Valley of Judgement, Neji saves them and cuts the red string, which saddens Naruto. However Neji reminds Naruto that he was the one who teaches him that destiny is something someone reaches by their own hands. Naruto smiles and replies that he will reach his destiny with his own hand, while making Sakura creeps out. She then says that destiny will never happen. The three then fight the enemies together. At the very beginning, Neji tells Sakura to punch Naruto (really a way for Naruto to take down an enemy), which she does in brutal fashion. After Kakashi and Guy defeat the enemies, Sakura is forced to explain false alarms to Naruto.

Soon after Kakashi noted that the search for the plant was futile and that they need to return to the village. Later, during the fireworks display, Hinata sat on her veranda for the display. While Neji sercetly watches her from the shadows.

Neji was recruited as part of the five-man team to retrieve Sasuke from the Sound Four. Neji was chosen to be the rear lookout in the single file line Shikamaru organized because of his ability to use the Byakugan. When, during the course of the mission, the team was captured by Kidomaru's webbing, Neji was able to free them with his Gentle Fist, and sent them after the remaining members of the Sound Four while he fought Kidomaru. Kidomaru as able to analyze Neji's defenses, and found the blind spot in the Byakugan.

At one point in their fight, Kidomaru summons a giant spider. The spider released many smaller spiders, and Neji used his Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms to stop them.

Neji realized that Kidomaru was more powerful than he was, but was determined to never give up, as he wanted to show those who considered him a genius that their faith in him was correct, and to prove that he no longer surrendered to fate. Neji was severely wounded when Kidomaru managed to fire an arrow through his chest. However, he was able to keep it from hitting his heart by moving at the last moment.

After dodging yet another arrow, Neji realized that he couldn't stop the next one. He allowed the arrow to hit him - however, he prevented it from being fatal, and took advantage of the string attached to it that Kidomaru used to guide its trajectory by channelling chakra through the web, severely injuring Kidomaru. He then ran towards him, saying for the sake of those believe that he was a genius he could not lose, caught and struck the latter repeatedly with Gentle Fist.

Before he died, Kidomaru said that Sasuke was beyond salvation, and couldn't be brought back to Konoha as he had made his own choice to leave. However, Neji proclaimed that Naruto would be able to save Sasuke from the darkness, as Naruto had saved him. Afterwards, Kidomaru died, and Neji collapsed due to his injuries. He was critically injured after the battle, but was saved with the help of Shizune and other medical ninja with the Healing Resuscitation Regeneration Technique.

In the anime, since making peace with his uncle Hiashi, the Hyuga clan leader decided to help oversee his nephew's training and as such Neji would regularly train with Hiashi when not on missions. Also during this time, Neji began training with Hiashi in an attempt to hone Neji's skills. On missions, Neji was commonly the team leader for Team Maito Gai when Guy was absent, and was more cautious and pragmatic than Naruto was. Neji attempted to use his Byakugan against Raiga, but Ranmaru's kekkei genkai created illusions that he mistook for real people. During the second battle, he was easily defeated and knocked out. While he was unconscious, Tenten attempted to wake him up by feeding him the Curry of Life twice but, due to his low tolerance to spicy food, he only freaked out after eating it, and fell unconscious again.

The Ninja Academy students were divided into teams of three and were assigned to a genin who would lead them on a mission against the other teams. Neji was assigned to lead a team of three Ninja Academy students; Koji, Jin and Futaba. His time with them was not covered much except that he was doing better than Naruto. Neji instructed his students on how to use a watch as a compass.

Neji suggested that he and the others should concern themselves with finding the star, rather than with the potential dangers the star training had to the children. When the villagers confronted Akahoshi, Neji initially refused to get involved, and when Naruto attacked Akahoshi after Akahoshi disabled Naruto's team-mates with an attack, he told Naruto that he would deny knowing anything about what Naruto did, unwilling to betray the client and erode people's trust in Konoha ninja. Despite saying this, when Tsunade reprimanded the group for Naruto's destroying the star to defeat Akahoshi, Neji accepted responsibility as team leader, before Tsunade revealed that, as Akahoshi was the client, no one would complain about their failing the mission.

He suspected that Menma was an Otogakure ninja, and openly admitted to Menma that he didn't trust him. While testing the theory, he learned of Menma's incredible speed. His suspicions were confirmed in part when it was revealed that Menma was part of a bandit clan, but Menma remained on Naruto's side, and sacrificed himself to save a town from bandits.

Neji, along with the rest of the Konoha 11, was recruited by Shikamaru to investigate any traces of the trap master's plans. Using his Byakugan he found an explosive tag inside the Academy and discovered a wire that led to a log in which a thrown kunai hitting the bullseye would trigger an explosion that would potentially destroy the whole village. Neji later helped in locating all explosive tags through Konoha and joined Naruto and the genin in confronting the trap master at the Hokage Monument.

Neji, Hinata, and Shino try to help Shikamaru by clearing the areas. When the Konoha 11 gather to look at Gaara's fight, Neji explains about Seimei's absorption ability that is affecting Gaara. After the mission, Neji suggests that Hinata should see Naruto leave Konohagakure since he will be training with Jiraiya. Neji was also aware about the feelings Hinata has for Naruto. A similar scene happened after the Sasuke Retrieval Arc in the manga.

In the anime, Neji continued to develop his skill in the following years, later mastering the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. Two years after Naruto left the village to train with Jiraiya, Konohagakure decided to host an early Chunin Exam alongside Sunagakure. As Neji and his team-mates were waiting in line to officially enter, they were surprised to see Naruto returning. Neji, however, quickly reveal it to be Sarutobi Konohamaru in disguise, not wanting let this opportunity pass for Naruto. Neji insisted that Naruto will return when he is ready as he aspires to become Hokage, something that Konohamaru and his friends accepted. Once entering the exams, Neji and his team-mates were randomly split up and sent to different rooms to take the written test. On a monitor, Shikamaru, as proctor, explained that everyone only needs to answer one question on the test, but their combined score with their team-mates will determine if they pass or fail the exam as they need exactly 100 points to pass. Luckily Hinata was in the same room as him while he calmly assess the situation. Neji finally realized the truth, and decide to have Hinata perform the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm with him to explain it.

As everyone in the room failed to understand, Neji explained that they could tell the other team-mates which question to take by simply striking on the walls to create enough vibrations. While explaining his reason for telling everyone as to not be obstructed, a Suna-nin named Sajin, who was able to contact his team-mates on his own, decided to ruin Neji's plan by striking the wall an extra time. Neji, however, was unfazed, noting that with the math of the nature at hand, the message would still be correctly interpreted by everyone. While an irritated Sajin was ready to fight, Neji reminded him of the rule for no fighting in this exam. After everyone answered and time was up, Shikamaru revealed the second question. He asked who the team would sacrifice in a situation that requires a decoy, noting that while the answer had to be unanimous to pass, that the person will be disqualified. Seeing through the nature of the question, Neji chose to keep his answer blank. This proved correct as soon he and his teammates passed the exam. Afterwards, because too many passed the first exam, a race to Sunagakure, where the second exam would be held, was issued to make only the first 30 people to arrive qualify for the second exam.

Ultimately, Neji and his team made it to Sunagakure and qualified for the second round. While settling in, Neji noted his concerns of the Taki-nin team, surprised how much faster they were than any other participant of the exams. The following night, as all the participants were ready to eat a largely-prepared dinner, everyone grew nervous about the overly-sweaty Burami ruining the food. To which, the genin all quickly tried to keep him away from spreading his sweat, which resulted in Neji using his Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven an accidently destroying the food. As tension grew between everyone over the recent event, an all-out brawl began. Ultimately, the late arrival of Fu with her out-spoken desire to make friends and play games caused everyone to lose their desire to fight. The following day, the second exam began. Like the last exam in Konogakure, the teams were each given either a heaven or earth scroll and were required to within three days to obtain a matching set. They were then required to bring the set to main building in the center of the Demon Desert.

Once the second round begin, Neji and his teammates were seen jumping into their location to begin the second round. As the exam began, Neji took advantage of last night's brawl to know which enemies to avoid this round. Heand his team began searching for enemies, only to find none of them within sight. As they began wondering around aimlessly, Lee realized a pattern and began marking rocks with kunai, soon realizing from them that they were wondering in circles. As the team dispelled the genjutsu, they finally found an enemy team, only to forced back by Team Shira. Sen removed another genjutsu, revealing to Lee's team that they were standing in quicksand, which dragged them down to the Sand Waterfall Pit. Lee then used the Second Gate to save his team. After which, Tenten summoned an enormous ladder to escape the pit. They soon found Team Shira and saved them from their treacherous fellow Suna-nin. Afterwards, Shira asked the Konoha-nin why they came to their aid, to which Neji simply explained they felt compelled to help. As Neji asked why they attacked Shira's team at all, it was explained that they had no respect for Shira as a ninja. Lee then deduced that like him, Shira has no skill for genjutsu and ninjutsu, causing him to be ridiculed by his peers.

Recognizing Shira's greater struggles than his own, Lee angrily went after the other Suna-nin to make them atone for thieir actions. He and Tenten soon caught up with the overzealous Lee and saved him from the Suna-nin's group assault. Despite leaving them prime for defeat, Shira arrived and begged the Konoha-nin to leave them be. He insisted that their distaste of him is his own fault for the person he is right now, determined to be a man of recognition in the future. After Lee and his team agreed, Shira offered his scroll to one of the Suna-nin teams as they technically defeated his team earlier. As Shira's words finally reached the spiteful Suna-nin, they declined and instead gave Shira's team and Lee's team their own respective scrolls as they lost this battle. The other Suna-nin then left, determined like Shira to prove themselves by finding more scrolls.

Quickly the two taijutsu specialists proved themselves equal in raw speed and skill, although Neji noted Shira had a slight advantage with his more solid built and by extension greater raw strength. Watching the two rivals battle it out, Neji thought about his own rivalry in Naruto, while eagerly waiting for Naruto's return. Neji ultimately marveled in Shira's self-taught taijutsu skills, including producing soundless blows and battling Lee's Eight Gates by first blocking them out completely and then matching its power with his own Seven Heavenly Breaths. Ultimately, the fight was called off when Shira's previous wounds opened. Acknowledging Shira and his team as friends, the separate teams then parted ways. As his team were on the move, Neji tried to think of the right time to break the new to his team-mates — that the two scrolls they got are both Heaven scrolls.

The following day, Neji's team ran into a team of Ame-kunoichi. As Neji calmly asked the other team if they had an Earth scroll, they quickly attack Tenten and her team. After the initial skirmish, the enemies decided retreat, deciding that Team Guy was not the target they sought from their chakra levels. Despite this, Neji's team pursued the Ame-nin into an old ruins. During their continued battle, the ground collapsed, swallowing Tenten and Ajisai and separating them from their respective teams. Neji insisted to the other Ame-nin that they call off the battle as their respective team-mates were more important. While they agreed, the Ame-nin decided to go about saving their third member on their own. Lee suggested to Neji that they plow their way through the rubble, only for Neji to reject the idea in fear of causing more damage than desired.

Soon afterward, the Ame-kunoichi were attacked by another Konoha team. Neji and Lee quickly went to their aid. While the fellow Konoha-nin were shocked to see the two aiding another village, Neji insisted that they needed their help and that ultimately, there was no true alliance in the exams beyond one's own team. This prompted the other Konoha team to retreat now that the numbers were against them. Now agreeing to work with Neji and Lee, the Ame-kunoichi joined them in their pursuit. Eventually, they found themselves attack by a colony of large ants. Lee decided to draw their attention while Neji and the others went on. Their combined sensory skills were able to find Tenten and Ajisa, but the ruins were to collapsed for them to safely get through. Ultimately, Tenten was the one to break free and help reunite the team by unleashing a large surge of water. With crisis now over, both teams agreed to part ways peacefully.

Later, Team Guy was caught in a massive sandstorm. Unable to push forward, Neji repelled with sand long enough for Tenten to summon a protective dome for them to wait out the storm. While waiting for the storm to settle down, Tenten told Lee to stop moving too much and he told her that he was sorry. Lee on the other hand complained for how long it will take for them to get out of the sandstorm, but Neji told them that they will have to wait to which Lee agree. Once the sandstorm did settle down, Neji informs Lee and Tenten, who are encouraged to head out to the direction of the tower, that they hold two heaven scrolls, noting that he didn't have a chance to tell his team-mates due to the recent events. Neji then uses his Byakugan to scout the surrounding area, catching the sight of a weary Matsuri. The three genin then run to the kunoichi's aid, with Lee mistaking Neji's intents and asking if he wants to steal the scroll from a shinobi in danger, only to be corrected by Tenten. As they approach Matsuri, she tells them that Gaara is in danger and asks them to go and help the Kazekage in battle.

Once arriving, Neji used his Byakugan and was shocked to see not only that the Taki kunoichi Fu was there and a jinchuriki as well, but that a Suna-nin Hoichi was attempting to extract both tailed beasts inside their respect ninja. Team Guy was soon approached by Fu's team-mates, where it was agreed to unite their efforts in saving the two jinchuriki. While the others went to distract the Suna-nin, Neji went with Tenten. Once approaching the jinchuriki, Neji used his Gentle Fist to block Gaara and Fu's chakra points, forcing the chakra chains binding Gaara and Fu to be removed. This came at Hōichi's expense as the chains soon turned on him and ultimately bound him. As Gaara asked Neji to save the man, Neji used his Gentle Fist to block Hoichi's chakra points, ending the technique. After Gaara thanked Neji for his efforts, Fu quickly approached Neji, asking him to be her friend, to which the flustered Hyuga agreed while quickly asking her to let go of him.

Later, though still lacking a matching set, Team Guy decided to finish the exam and head to the main building. There, it was learned that the Chunin Exams were to end early due to controversy happening in the second exam. Instead, it was decided by Gaara that a report on each participant would be sent to their respective village leader for them to decide if they would be promoted. Upon returning to the village, Tsunade decided to promote the entire Team Guy from genin to chunin status, but also further promoted Neji from genin to jonin status as recommended by Gaara, due to his performance in saving the Kazekage's life. Neji thanked his teammates for congratulating him, and thanked Tsunade for making him a Jonin.

During the timeskip, Neji is the only member of the Konoha 11 to advance to the rank of jōnin. At the start of Part II, Neji and the rest of Team Guy were sent to provide back-up for Team Kakashi. They were intercepted by Pakkun, who redirected them to Team Kakashi's destination: an Akatsuki hideout. Along the way, they were confronted by Kisame Hoshigaki, who quickly captured Neji, Tenten, and Lee in a Water Prison. Neji was able to free them with his Gentle Fist, allowing Guy to finish off Kisame. They discovered that it was not the real Kisame, only a lookalike.

When they convened with Team Kakashi, Team Guy was tasked with bringing down a barrier blocking the entrance to the Akatsuki lair. Neji used his Byakugan to find the seals keeping the barrier in place, but the team was ambushed by copies of themselves once the barrier was brought down. They defeated their clones, and reunited with Team Kakashi. Neji spotted Deidara with his Byakugan, and, when Deidara prepared to self-destruct, he warned the rest to run away. Later, when Chiyo began to use a strange technique, he mistook it as a medical ninjutsu, but later realised what it really was. Team Guy returned home when the mission was complete. On the way back, Guy resorted to carrying Kakashi in order to move faster. Lee, seeing this as a new way of training, requested Neji to go on his back, but Neji entirely refused.

After Asuma's death, Neji can be seen at his funeral mourning his loss alongside the other villagers in the anime. Also in the anime, Neji and Hinata learned from Ino that Naruto defeated the Akatsuki by using his new Rasen Shuriken Technique. This has may Neji, and Hinata happy overall that their comrade is getting stronger as they strike to become stronger like him.

When Pain began his attack on Konoha, Team Guy was away on a mission. During a pit-stop on their return home, they noticed a number of birds apparently escaping from the village. They rushed to the village, Neji using his Byakugan to see what he could find out before their actual arrival. With it, he noticed a defeated Gamabunta, who told them of the village's destruction. Upon their return, they found Hinata badly injured, and they quickly got her medical attention. When they later learned that Naruto had defeated Pain, Neji insisted on going to help him confront Nagato, even though Naruto did not want back-up, saying that it was too reckless for Naruto to go alone when he was exhausted. Despite this, he remained in the village, and greeted Naruto with the other ninja upon his return.

While interviewed by Team Ebisu over Naruto's actions three years ago, Neji instead told Sarutobi Konohamaru and his friends the story of how his life changed during the Invasion of Konoha while rescuing Hinata from two Kumogakure ninja who used the chaos as an opportunity to take the Byakugan. While the younger ninjas questioned what his story had to do with Naruto, Neji explains that he chose to rescue Hinata because of the change of heart brought about by his defeat during his fight with Naruto in the Chunin Exams. Konohamaru was angry saying that Naruto was not in the story. But Neji told Konohamaru that Naruto was the whole point of the story.

When news reaches Konoha of Sasuke's recent dealings with the Akatsuki, Neji and the rest of the Konoha 11 decide that they should personally kill Sasuke before he involves the village in a war. When Naruto returns to the village, the Konoha 11 try to find out what happened in the Land of Iron. Neji then asks Naruto if Sasuke was in such a weakened state why didn't he kill him, but Sakura notes that Sasuke was not alone and doing so would not have been an easy feat.

At a meeting held by the Hyuga clan regarding the impending war, Neji is appointed as the commander of the clan on the frontlines by Hiashi which shocked some of the members. Hinata later meets with Kurenai where she is told by Shikamaru that he and quite a few of the other members of the Konoha 11 had seen Naruto since he left the village and that Tsunade was looking for her.

Hopeful that Tsunade had in fact requested her to go on a mission so she could see Naruto she goes in search of her only to be disappointed. She along with the other females of the Konoha 11 and Shiho are later invited by Tenten to a girls night out at Yakiniku Q. Somewhat saddened that he wasn't invited, Choji comes up with the idea of a guys night out at the same place. The two groups talk about Naruto and the past, reminiscing about the first Chunin Exams. The girls are later joined by Shizune and a moderately intoxicated Tsunade. Tsunade attempts to apologise for how she dismissed Hinata earlier but Hinata tells her it was fine as she knew what she had to do. The next day during her training with Neji she tells him that she bore no ill will towards him for her father's decision and that he was the right person to lead them in the war.

When the Fourth Shinobi War began, Neji was placed in the Second Division. The Second Division was sent to intercept part of the White Zetsu Army. Part of the Fifth Division joined them, and Neji updated them on the plan of attack. When division-commander Kitsuchi unearthed the Zetsu army, the entire division attacked, with Neji joining forces with Hinata to perform the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm.

The Zetsu prove very resilient to damage and the battle dragged on, with one Zetsu almost managing to trap Neji and absorb some of his chakra. He used Gentle Fist Art One Blow Body to free himself, but noticed that the Zetsu absorbed some of his chakra. As the battle raged on, Hinata and Neji fought side-by-side protecting each other's back.

As nightfall approached after the first day of the war, Neji rested alongside Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Akamaru and Aburame Shino. Exhausted from prolonged use of his Byakugan, Kiba urged him to visit the Logistical Support and Medical Division for treatment but Neji refused, and continued to use his Byakugan until he collapsed, causing Shino and Hinata to take over his scouting duties. Unbeknownst to Neji, the white Zetsu that had absorbed his chakra previously impersonated him and infiltrated the medical compound, killing five medical-nin before being stopped by Sakura. The real Neji was in actuality still on the battlefield, being carried on Akamaru's back.

As the second day of war starts, they once again engaged the White Zetsu Army clones who had this time impersonated their comrades. Neji who was seemingly rested, in the anime, he is shocked to find the familiar chakra webs of Kidomaru. After freeing his allies with his Gentle Fist, he spots the reincarnated Sound ninja, drawing him out with a substitution technique. Neji quickly overwhelms him with his new long-range Gentle Fist. However, his victory is short-lived, as Kidōmaru engulfs them in a strange seal. Neji's body was left in a comatose state while his soul was sent to a new location where it was reanimate within a large barrier. Inside, the inhabitants are able to battle normal. However, the Sound Four inform their enemies that in time, their actual bodies' halted chakra flow will eventually cause them to die. In addition, killing the Sound Four will not undo the technique. Despite the initial stalemate, the Sound Four's enhanced Cursed Seals grow even stronger from their accumulated malice, quickly overwhelming the Konoha ninja. Seeing that, Shikamaru begins to intentionally provoke them, knowing that Naruto's new senses would pick up on it. Eventually, Naruto finds them and breaks through the barrier, allowing Inoichi, through a telepathic connection, to release the technique and restore Neji and the others to their bodies. Upon awakening, Neji is tearfully hugged by a relieved Hinata.

Later, confronted by one of the transformed Zetsu, Kiba called out to him that Hinata is in danger. Quickly dispatching the shinobi, Neji cursed that he would not make it to Hinata in time and watches on with horror as his cousin is plummeted into a mountain-side only to be revealed as a Zetsu clone. As Naruto passes overhead, Neji wonders if it was really him before following after Kiba and Akamaru. He arrives in time to see that it was in fact Naruto and that he had protected Hinata from an enemy attack. After telling Kiba and an Iwa-nin that he did not realise that it was him because of his change in appearance and chakra signature. Demanding that Naruto prove that he is who he says he is, Hinata said there was no need for that because he came to their rescue. The group then mobilized to finish off the rest of the enemies. After being informed by Inoichi from HQ that Naruto and B were fighting the "masked Madara", Neji and the Konoha 11 rush to his aid.

Arriving to the front of the battlefield, Neji informed Naruto that he was the key to the new battle strategy, and before he could tell him what had happened to Inoichi and Nara Shikaku, the Ten-Tails attempted to attack the group again. Rushing to his uncle's side, and following his orders, the two Hyuga used the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven to deflect the beast's attack, gaining the praise of others on the battlefield for their prowess. Echoing his uncle's later sentiments that people might die on the battlefield and that it was better for a parent to know that they died before their children, as his own father had. Neji, Hiashi and Hinata declared that they would protect Naruto on the battlefield.

As the battle between the Alliance and the beast waged on, Neji was able to buy Naruto enough time to enter Sage Mode and use the Rasenshuriken, but when the beast used a single fast-moving pinpoint attack which they were unable to deflect in time. As Hinata flung out her arms to protect Uzumaki Naruto, Neji intercepted the attack and protects the both of them as the branches impaled the young Hyuga, as Kitsuchi subdues the Ten Tails' and Hiashi looked on in horror. Naruto shouted for a medic, to which Neji, accepting his death, explained that it was too late for him, as Hinata cried. Neji explained to Naruto that Naruto's life also contained the life of Hinata and himself, due to their willingnesss to die for Naruto. When asked by a devastated Naruto why he, a genius from the Hyuga clan, sacrificed his life for him, Neji remembered his fight with Naruto in the Chunin Exams, and told Naruto that he did it because he called him a genius. He then mused that he finally understood his father's choice of sacrifice to protect his friends. As he passed away, Neji's juinjutsu was activated, and his Byakugan was sealed forever.

Hinata's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream

In Hinata's genjutsu dream, Neji alongside Hanabi watch Hinata being in a lovely loving couple relationship with Naruto from afar.

Rock Lee's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream

In Rock Lee's genjutsu dream, Neji along with Naruto are finally defeated by Lee in a battle.

Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream

In the anime, Naruto's parents did not die during the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha, in which the half of Kurama was sealed into him while the other half is sealed within his mother. The villagers dislike Naruto, but show him some respect as he is the Fourth Hokage's son. People often accuse Naruto of favouritism, which angers him. The Uchiha Clan Massacre also never happened, so Itachi never defected the village, and Sasuke never grew to hate him.

During a mission, Team Kakashi, Team Kurenai, Team Asuma, and Team Guy are given a mission to find experienced shinobi who have gone missing, under the assumption that as they're recent Academy graduates, they won't be targeted by whoever is behind the abductions. During the mission, the jōnin leaders are kidnapped. Akatsuki is revealed to be behind the abductions.

The Konoha genin discover an abandoned village. In the village, Teams Kakashi and Guy briefly see their kidnapped allies, Naruto and Neji give chase, and end up meeting a masked man who possesses the Byakugan. The masked man takes Naruto and Neji through a gate, where they are shown images from the Hyūga Affair. The three discuss the events witnessed, and the masked man asks Neji to join him and force change in Konohagakure.

Being asked, Neji questions the masked man's motives. He says that by changing how a village such as Konohagakure operates, the other hidden villages will follow, changing the world for the better. The masked man requests Neji to see what he means. Neji agrees to hear him out, and when Naruto tries to interfere, the masked man paralyses him. Neji promises to return to Naruto once he has seen what the masked man wants, and the two depart. The masked man ponders about it, and instructs them to resume surveillance. Neji asks if the Konoha genin are his team-mates, which the masked man confirms, and asks Neji if he wants to see if they can change the future of shinobi. During the battle against Hiruko, the masked man prevents Neji from coming to Sasuke and Sakura's aid, assuring him he won't let them be killed, insisting Neji watch the battle to witness their true selves. The masked man tells Neji there is more to come. During the climax of the battle, the other four genin groups reach each other, and the masked man retreats with Neji. The masked man and Neji debate on the genin's motivation to fight.

But once Naruto comes to help his team-mates. Naruto manages to use the Rasengan, and uses it and several clones to dispatch Sasori's puppets, causing him to retreat. The genin congratulate Naruto, and decide to look for their kidnapped team leaders. Neji asks the masked man if his test has yielded the results he expected, and surprises him by calling him his father.

The masked man leaves Neji to reunite with his comrades. The Konoha genin join as one team, and discuss how to find the kidnapped shinobi. Much to their surprise they're then joined by Neji. Neji finishes explaining the nature of the experiment they participated in. Konan creates paper butterflies to lead the genin to the captured shinobi, and leaves with her team. The genin find the captured shinobi and release them. Kurenai asks them about the recent events, and the masked man arrives, offering to explain it himself. He removes his mask and bandages, revealing himself as a reincarnated Hyuga Hizashi. Neji explains the Hyūga Affair, and Hizashi explains how he was reincarnated by a bandaged man, and orchestrated the incident to ascertain if his death had effects on how Konohagakure handles its affairs.

Hizashi and Neji discuss Neji's motivations, and how there were changed after fighting Naruto. Neji's words allow Hizashi to let go of his attachments, and his soul is released. While on their way to Konoha to report to Minato, everyone witnesses the village that they were just at being destroyed in a explosion. Thus everyone wonders what could have happened. Once they finally returned to Konoha, the four Konoha genin teams report to Minato. Despite having disobeyed direct orders, doing so resulted in the mission's success, so there are no repercussions. They discuss this among themselves wondering if Team Jiriaya could had cause the explosion. Including that the Konoha 11 members except for Sasuke look up to Naruto now as a friend and comrade. Neji and the others then learn that Naruto and Sasuke, are going to train by themselves upon learning from Team Asuma that Sasuke is learning a new technique from Kakashi. Which leads Naruto to go find Jiriaya so he can expand his Rasengan.

Two years later, Neji officially becomes a Jonin. The next day while being out late at night. Neji along with the Konoha 11 wonders why the village was put on lockdown, so to discuss this matter he is informed by Shikamaru to meet him at the Ninja Academy. At the Ninja Academy Neji and the Konoha 11 meet up in their old classroom. To which Sakura reveals to them that Sasuke left the village, this surprised everyone including Naruto who insisted that Sasuke is still their friend. Sakura also informs them that Sasuke is clueless on the fact that he is going to become Orchimaru's next vessel, which everyone believes that Sasuke is definitely in danger now. This discussion leads to Naruto deciding to bring Sasuke back no matter what, in order to save him from becoming Orochimaru's next vessel. He and Shikamaru sneak out of the village with Kiba's help. Before Naruto takes his leave, he promises Sakura that he will bring Sasuke back.

Unknown to the two boys that Danzo sent four members of the ANBU out to stop them, even if it means killing them. So Neji who realized that something wasn't right had Rock Lee, and Tenten come with him to help Naruto and Shikamaru. They arrived just in time to help Naruto and Shikamaru fight the ANBU. Realizing the ANBU are trying to kill them, Shikamaru realizes they don't serve under Minato because they would never kill Naruto and Neji says he heard about a separate ANBU faction secretly led by someone else. This leads to Neji and Shikamaru learning that this secondary ANBu is known as Root.

Naruto manages to unmask the Root member fighting him, revealing her to be Anko. Shikamaru realizes their mission is to ensure Sasuke reaches Orochimaru, and has the group flee from the fight so they can continue pursuing Sasuke. While running away from the ANBU, Lee stays behind to stall all the Root shinobi, but Hayate engages him, allowing the others to continue. Once the ANBU gets closer to them, Tenten stays behind to fight Yugao. Thus Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru continue to give chase, being followed by Anko and Sai.

While finally reaching the tower that Sasuke is at, Neji decides to fight Anko and Sai while Naruto and Shikamaru run to go into the tower. As Neji begins his fight with Anko, she reveals that this Sai that is with her is an Ink clone. Sai finally revealed himself using his big ink bird in the sky while trying to stop Naruto and Shikamaru from reaching the tower. As Neji's fight with Anko continues she uses her striking Shadow Snake on Neji, but he uses his Eight Trigrams Technique on her snakes. She then tries to attack Neji from behind him at close ranges but he turns around and strikes her with his Eight Trigrams 64 Palms Technique. He and the others then find Naruto laying unconscious on the ground. When Naruto wakes up, Neji and the others are relieved that Naruto is alright. However Naruto is told by Shikamaru that Sasuke is no where to be found, and that the Anbu they were fighting retreated in order to make sure that Sasuke is with Orchimaru.

The next day while they return to the village, they find to their horror that a crater satellite where Konohagakure was supposed to be, is the Chibaku Tensei floating above it. Neji confirms the chakra of the villagers is inside it with his Byakugan. The he and the others meets up with Sakura, who had just came back from a mission and is also puzzled by what happened. Naruto wants to rescue them but Sakura insists that he needs to recover from his injuries Therefore Sakura begins healing Naruto's injuries, and Naruto uses the time to mould senjutsu chakra. Neji and the others then meet Yahiko who now calls himself Pain, leading for Naruto to lash out that he is not a student of Jiraiya if he blames Konoha for his friends death. Then all of the Six Paths of Pain confront Naruto, who releases a shadow clone, and enters Sage Mode. Naruto manages to take out five of the six paths, but is pinned down by the Deva Path. However Hinata who had also just came back from a mission comes to his rescue, but is struck down by Pain, causing Naruto to transform into the six tails form of Nine-Tails. However, Pain traps Naruto inside another Chibaku Tensei.

Neji then remained by Sakura's side to see her heal Hinata's injuries. He then continue his duties after the battle with Pain. At Konoha, Tsunade informs Konoha 11 that Sasuke killed Orochimaru and is allying with the Akatsuki, including that the organization has been attacking the other hidden villages and kidnapping several high ranking shinobi. With the intel Jiraiya has gathered, Naruto and his friends set out to the Akatsuki's hideout. Once they got to the hideout, Neji and his team fought against Kakuzu. While Team Asuma fought against Hidan and Team Kurenai fought against Deidara. And lastly Team Kakashi also fought against Deidara but they then fought against Sasori. While the other Akatsuki members retreated except for Sasori, Neji then arrived with the Allie Shinobi Force including to have Itachi and Team Jiraiya help them fight against Sasori's human puppet army. While fighting Sasori's human puppet army and reincarnated human puppet army, Naruto and Sasuke fought against Sasori. After Sasori is defeated, Neji returns to Konoha to take a group with Naruto, Team Jiraiya along with the Konoha 11 including Sasuke and Itachi.

After everyone was free from the genjutsu; Neji's body was later recovered from the battlefield, and he was buried in the Konoha Cemetery after the war ended.

Neji, replacing Kakashi, led a group comprised of himself, Naruto, Rock Lee, and Sakura on a mission to protect Shion, a priestess destined to save the world from the demon, Mōryō. The group arrived at Shion's temple to discover it already under attack by The Gang of Four. Naruto, having recklessly charged into the fray, got himself trapped, prompting to Neji send Sakura and Lee to his aid. Noticing that Shion was being pursued by Kusuna, he caught up with her to narrowly prevent what would have been a fatal blow, forcing Kusuna to retreat.

Later during the mission, Neji led the group, now with Shion and Taruho, through a large torrent because he had seen the enemy group fighting with fire. However, he was proven wrong when Shizuku attacked them with Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique. This surprised Neji, as he detected no water-natured chakra in Shizuku during their first encounter. Once he and the others reached higher ground, Neji used his Byakugan to locate Shizuku. Lee and Naruto impulsively ran off to engage Shizuku and Gitai, leaving only Neji and Sakura behind to guard Shion. To quickly distance Shion from their pursuers, Neji knocked her out, and fled to the forest with Sakura, the priestess unconscious on her back.

Neji and Sakura were pursued by Kusuna and Setsuna. Telling Sakura to go ahead with Shion, Neji engaged the two enemies, hoping to stall them. Setsuna assailed Neji with Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken, which Neji deflected using Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven. However, Neji later realised that Kusana had been a puppet all along and Setsuna was merely playing decoy. Fearing for Sakura and Shion's safety, he rushed to save them. He was too late. While Neji managed to prevent Sakura from receiving a fatal, toxic bite, he failed to save Taruho, who had taken on Shion's appearance to also act as a decoy.

Later in the movie, Neji sent Naruto to aid Shion in sealing the demon while he, Lee, and Sakura battled their enemies. Neji learned from Lee's fight with Gitai that the enemy ninjas received chakra from an unusual source. The three of them provoked an attack from The Gang of Four and remained on the defensive until they depleted their chakra. Before Kusana could perform the chakra injections, Neji killed him with a slightly upgraded version of Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, effectively crippling the remaining Gang of Four.

At the end of the movie, Neji waited alongside with everyone else, waiting for Naruto and Shion to reappear from the mountain.

Neji made a few short appearances in this movie. He was first seen rescuing children when ninja from the Land of the Sky when they attacked Konoha. Using his Byakugan, he scanned the Sora-nin's equipment to discover that chakra circulating though their Winged Mechanical Devices enabled the Land of the Sky ninja to fly. He later relayed this information to Shikamaru, who pinpointed the location of the Land of the Sky carriers.

Neji reappeared at the end of the movie, where he, Choji, Yamato, and Sakura ran into Shikamaru's group. There, Neji wondered what was happening in the Land of the Sky's base as it was being destroyed by Shino's kikaichū.

Neji made many appearances in the movie. He was first seen at Naruto and Sai's recovery party. He then was included in the mission to bring Naruto and Sakura back, and was instrumental in defeating the monster created by the Chimera Technique with Hinata using the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. At the end of the movie, he and Sai are on a rock as Sai explains that after going through life and death could breed love meaning Kakashi could be in love. This freaked Naruto out as he started to run away from Kakashi, who was trying to explain himself to Naruto.

Neji first appeared alongside his friends battling several Zetsu clones disguised as deceased Akatsuki members. Later in the alternate world, a different Neji appeared. Compared to the Neji that Naruto and Sakura know, this one is very immature with a lively personality and a huge pervert that has no regrets abusing his Byakugan to shamelessly peep on girls when they take a bath, however he gets afraid when Hinata catches him. Therefore Hinata beats him as punishment when Lee tries to explain himself in front of Hinata.

Way after Neji's death, many years later Naruto finally became the Seventh Hokage. After Naruto finally became the Seventh Hokage, he kept a photo of Neji that is dear to him: which show both of them representing as members of the Sasuke retrieval squad along with Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji and Rock Lee when they were all pre teens, to which Naruto keeps the photo in his study room (bedroom in the novel). Neji is lastly seen in a flashback by Naruto when he gives Boruto enough chakra to make the Parent and Child Rasengan.

Uchiha Obito uses Neji as an example of the type of countless death that will keep occurring if Naruto and the Allied Shinobi Forces continue fighting. Rather than mourn Neji by surrendering, they celebrate his sacrifice with a counterattack in his memory: Naruto gives version 1 cloaks to the entire Allied Forces and they maneuver into a bird-shaped formation, together breaking out of a prison created by the Ten-Tails and subsequently releasing it from Obito and Madara's control.

After the war is won, Neji's body is taken back to Konoha and he is buried alongside the many other casualties. Though he is gone, he remains in the thoughts of those who knew him: in Konoha Hiden, Rock Lee regularly dreams of Neji, but the dreams never last long enough for Lee's liking. Then at Naruto and Hinata's wedding, Hyuga Hanabi holds a picture of Neji during the ceremony. Many years later, Hinata regularly visits Neji's grave with her daughter, Uzumaki Himawari. Even though she never had met him, Himawari refers to him as her uncle. Including that his ideal of disrespecting the Hokage title, while respecting the title in the end was passed down to his nephew, Uzumaki Boruto.

In the beginning, Uzumaki Naruto developed a strong dislike towards Neji due to his ideals that no one can ever change their fate. Furthermore, after Neji left his cousin Hinata in critical condition, Naruto vowed to beat him at their match. Their match proved not only a physical battle, but also a conflict of ideals with Neji losing on both accounts after revealing his own fight with his fate as a branch member of the Hyuga clan. When Naruto promised that he would change the fate of the Hyuga clan for him, Neji became a nicer person as he set aside his hatred for the main house, looking after Hinata as he trained with her, and desired to become strong enough to return the favor to Naruto.

In the anime, the two went on a mission together to find a cure for Hinata. Because she had lost her eyesight during a thousand needle ritual training session. Naruto saw that he and Neji have a softspot for Hinata, and when the mission fail. Naruto told Hinata that Neji try very hard to get her eyesight back, which made her happy.

Years after, during the Fourth Shinobi War Neji got his chance when he, Hinata and Hiashi came to Naruto's aid in a plan to defeat the Ten-Tails. However, their defenses proved no match for the monster, and Neji took a deathblow from the Ten-Tails meant for Naruto and Hinata. As Naruto pleaded why Neji sacrificed himself, the latter, reminding him of their battle years ago replied that Naruto called him a genius. Neji realized in his final moments that, like his father before him, he made the choice to die for those he holds dear.

Upon Neji's death, Naruto's resolve was shattered even further as Obito openly mocked Naruto for failing to protect his comrades. However, Hinata and Kurama managed to remind Naruto of his life not being just his own nor should he give up on Neji's death so easily. As his confidence was restored, Naruto thanked Hinata and admitted to himself how he'd never be able to thank Neji enough for everything he had done.

Naruto then told a saddened Lee that he'll keep the real Neji in his heart forever and stated to Obito that Neji's will isn't dead and used his death to increase the morale of the Allied Forces. During a launch attack, Naruto and the others made a bird symbol in Neji's memory as they used it to attack the Ten Tails. After the war ended, Naruto and the rest of Konoha attended Neji's funeral, and Naruto was shown reflecting on the death of his friend. Years later Naruto married Hinata, making him now Neji's brother in law. In honor of Neji, Naruto and Hinata named their son after him by giving the name Boruto, which is similar to Neji's name. After Naruto finally became the Seventh Hokage, he kept a photo of Neji that is dear to him: which show both of them representing as members of the Sasuke retrieval squad along with Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji and Rock Lee when they were all pre teens, to which Naruto keeps the photo in his study room at his and Hinata's house.

The name "Neji" means "screw/whirl" (螺子), which may be referring to his Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven. It's also possibly a play on "Nejia", an internal Chinese martial art that focuses on developing internal chi through whirling and spinning techniques. His family name "Hyuga" means "place in the sun" (日向).

Besides Team Kakashi, Neji is the only member of the Konoha 11 who has learned more than two of the basic elemental natures.

In the Naruto SD anime, the only way Neji can scare Naruto is when he is about to activate his eight trigrams, and when he has a Kubrick stare in his eyes. Not only that Neji would kick by sending him in the air so he doesn't get near Hinata.

He and his father died by protecting someone from their clan. Neji died while protecting Hinata, who was going to sacrifice herself for Naruto. While Hizashi died while protecting Hiashi who was going to sacrifice himself for the cloud village so he can stop a war from happening.

Neji's favorite phrase was "Flying leap" (飛躍) which refers to making rapid progress in something.

Neji's personality had been described as cool and realistic.

When Neji was first seen in the manga, his hair tie was higher, directly below his head. However, after the second part of the Chunin Exams, it moved lower, to the hairstyle he has now. In the anime, he had the newer hairstyle nearly the whole time.

In the manga, his curse mark is a Manji, a common symbol used in Buddhism, instead it is an X in the anime. In the anime, the X was used to avoid confusion, since the manji looks similar to the symbol of the Nazi.

Neji shares his relationship as first cousin once-removed with Boruto and Himawari. Despite being a cousin to Himawari, she calls him uncle out of respect just as Hinata calls him her brother. In some regions, in view of genetics, Neji might be considered as uncle, since Hinata and Neji fathers' are identical twins, Neji and Hinata could be considered half-siblings, despite being first cousin in relation to each other.

It should also be noted that in Japan and many Asian cultures, a first cousin once-removed can also be regarded as an uncle.

In an interview, Kishimoto stated that the origin of the name Boruto is from Neji, who brought Naruto and Hinata together, and can have the meaning of connecting. Boruto (bolt) is another way of saying Neji (screw). Because of that nuance, Kishimoto named Naruto and Hinata's son, Boruto.

In the Naruto character popularity polls, Neji was placed 12th in the first, 13th in the second, 10th in the third, 6th in the fourth, 7th in the fifth and 8th in the sixth. He finished 15th in the seventh and most recent. While at first Neji was in between 10 and 19 in most of the character popularity polls, and Lee was in the Top 10, Lee has gradually become less popular, while Neji has become more popular, even though the two had equal exposure. However, in an overall tally of all of their scores, Lee and Neji made it to the Top 10.

Neji and Tenten have the same theme song in the anime, but Tenten's has a slower beat, and Neji's is more upbeat.

In an omake in Naruto Shippuuden episode 156, Naruto highlights how Neji doesn't appear much in Naruto Shippuuden in contrast to his team-mates Lee and Tenten, who appeared in the anime-only Three-Tails Arc. Neji argues that, as a Jonin, he is constantly away on missions and never has free time.

Throughout the series, birds have been used to allude to Neji's will.

Studio Pierrot has consistently given him the height of 158 cm at 13yrs, instead of 159.2cm as his Databook profile gives him.

There are several differences between her character in the current timeline and in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream:

In the current timeline, Neji and his team joined all of Hinata's 8 former classmates to take the Chunin Exams. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, he joins them all on a mission.

In the current timeline, Neji never saw his reincarnated father during the war. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, he does reunite with his late father even being surprise that he was the masked man that worked with the Akatsuki.

In the current timeline, Neji made amends with his father after Hiashi told him the true reason why Hizashi died. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, he makes amends with his father upon telling him how much he has changed thanks to Naruto.

Even though he, Naruto and Shikamaru are official members of the Sasuke Retrieval Squad in both the current timeline, and in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, when he goes to help Naruto and Shikamaru fight against the Root ANBU members. It's reveal that the other two Sasuke Retrieval Squad members that Neji brought with him are Rock Lee and Tenten.

In the current timeline, during his mission to take Sasuke back. Neji fought against Kidomaru. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, Neji fought against Anko.

In the current timeline it is Neji who believes that Naruto can bring Sasuke back home. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, it is Shikamaru who believes that Naruto can bring Sasuke back home.

In the current timeline, Neji never saw Naruto battle Pain. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, he does watch Naruto battle Pain.

In the current timeline, it is Obito and the Ten Tails that Neji and the Allie Shinobi Force fight against. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, It is Sasori and his human puppet army that Neji and the Allie Shinobi Force fight against.

In the current timeline, Neji dies while battling the Ten Tails. However in Tsunade's Infinite Tsukuyomi dream, Neji survived the battle against Sasori and his human puppet army. To which he takes a group photo with Naruto and a reformed Sasuke.

Both hated one of the their relatives. (For Neji : his uncle. Whereas for Boruto : his father)

Both are afraid of someone who is younger than them, and is way more powerful than them. (For Neji : he is afraid of Naruto when he unleashed Kurama's chakra. Whereas for Boruto : he is afraid of Himawari after she awokened her Byakugan)

Ironically both vow not to make this person angry ever again. (For Neji : after he had call Naruto a failure. Whereas for Boruto : after Naruto gets knock out)

Both have a soft spot for someone that is younger than them. (For Neji : Hinata. Whereas for Boruto : Himawari)

Both don't value teamwork, and has a rivalry with someone. (For Neji : Rock Lee. Whereas for Boruto : Sarada)

Both hate the Hokage title. (For Neji : seeing the title is fitted for people that are prodigies, and not for people that are weaklings. Whereas for Boruto : seeing the title as an nuisance, and is for people with no love ones)

But they have new respect for the title after witnessing something. (For Neji : being defeated by Naruto during their match. Whereas for Boruto : seeing Naruto protect him from Momoshiki)

Both took the Chunin Exams and defeated their oppenent. (For Neji : Hinata. Whereas for Boruto : Yurui) The only different is that Neji won his match fairly.. Whereas Boruto did it by cheating.

Both witness something that they believe is a tragedy in their life. (For Neji : when his father die after having his Byakugan seal away. Whereas for Boruto : seeing Naruto get captured by Momoshiki)

After the Chunin Exams both of them reconnected with their family for good. In which both finally forgive their relative for what happen to them. (For Neji : forgiving his uncle after he told him the real reason why his father died. Whereas for Boruto : forgiving his father for always trying to spend time with him)

Both have a new goal in life after they reconnected with their relative. (For Neji : making Naruto his rival, so he can get strong enough to defeat powerful enemies. Whereas for Boruto : wanting to become a shinobi like Sasuke, so he can help Sarada achieve her dream goal)

Both are seen spending time with their relative after their home was attacked. (For Neji : training with his uncle. Whereas for Boruto : Fist-bumping with his father)

Both have a change of heart after the Chunin Exams and decide to help their teammate. (For Neji : to see if his Gentle Fist is better than Lee's Drunken Fist. Whereas for Boruto : helping Sarada if she becomes the Hokage)